


Smar Ulfr

by ScarlettWallflower



Series: How They Met [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Bitty Nor and Ice, Family Feels, Gen, How They Met Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:35:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11302086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettWallflower/pseuds/ScarlettWallflower
Summary: The discovery of a new land gives Norway a strange feeling he can't shake, like there's someone here that needs him. But that's impossible. The island is uninhabited...





	Smar Ulfr

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on a tumblr blog I'm a member of. This is part of a series of how the Nordics met each other. Part two is going to be posted shortly and I have no idea when subsequent parts will appear. 
> 
> A Few Notes
> 
> Yggdrasil is the world tree, according to Norse mythology, it was made from the body of a primordial giant and is basically where we humans live and the gods have meetings here to discuss the fate of humans and such.
> 
> The story I reference about Mani (moon) and Hati the wolf is not important to your understanding of the story but it’s interesting if you want to look it up
> 
> Noregi is one of the names Norwegians would have used at the time to refer to themselves and Island, as near as I can tell, has pretty much always just been called that. Isur is old Norse for ice.
> 
> The “people here before” that Iceland mentions are the monks and Scots/Celts/etc. that inhabited Iceland for a short time before the (primarily Norwegian) settlers came.
> 
> Yes the female voice at the end is their mother. I headcanon Sweden and Denmark to be half brothers and Iceland and Norway to be biological brothers. I’m not quite sure who or what their mother might have been but I think Den and Swe’s mom was Scandinavia. 
> 
> Yes, I’m aware that Norway is considered to be part of Scandinavia and that it was not an actual physical kingdom or landmass. But neither was Germania, insofar as Germanic tribes were not united and were only really considered as such by Romans who just thought they were all a bunch of barbarians. This is Hetalia, not a Great Big History of Everything class, ya dig?

A soft wind blew across the sea and playfully swept the ash blonde curls of the young boy standing at the bow of a beautiful Viking ship and staring out at the horizon.

The dawn was just beginning to break and most of the others were sleeping. It was the boy’s favorite time of day. Nature was just reveling in its own glory and everything was quiet. There was a thrilling sense of hope and possibility, the salty wind like a whisper from a Norn. Your destiny is upon you, today will be a good day.

A small shiver ran through the boy and he wrapped his cloak around himself tightly. His ears picked up the deep, muttering voices of the men rowing towards the stern.

“…don’t know why we had to bring him with us. Last thing we need on a new island is that little brat running about and causing us trouble.”

“They say he’s been around since Yggdrasil was only a seed. That he’s Noregi himself.”

“Ssshh! If he hears you, he’ll become angry. He could raise a storm and kill us all within the blink of an eye!”

“That surly little whelp? He looks as if a strong gust of wind would knock him over!”

“Bad luck, I tell you. Strange things’re always happenin’ around him on land. No reason to think otherwise at sea. Hildr let him around her and just look where she is now. Down in Hel with ‘er baby.”

Norgei slumped down and pulled the hood of his cloak up. Of course their words hurt him, they always did. He knew the villagers were somewhat afraid of him, afraid of what he might do. 

The only people that weren’t frightened were the healers, but when they realized that his magic was not suited for medicine, nor powerful enough, they quickly lost interest in him.

He was used to being treated as a pariah. But the comment about Hildr had been particularly nasty.

Hildr was a girl he had known since her birth. She had played with him during her own childhood and remained by his side even as she became a woman, always showing him kindness and caring for him as a mother might.

Her recent marriage to Bergþor, a match which she had consulted Noregi on and he had approved, had given her a child. This had only been discovered once the party was already at sea and it was too late to turn back.

Hildr had laughed away his concerns when Noregi expressed them. She had assured him that she was strong and healthy and so too was her child. They would both be fine.

But a week ago, she had begun having pains in her belly and the healer on their ship warned that the child was too early. In a matter of hours, Hildr was gone, receiving only a hasty burial at sea.

Noregi was horrified and angry. She was supposed to live in the new territory with her husband and their children. She never even set foot on the shore.  
His thoughts continued in such a gloomy manner, causing him to remember the other person he missed.

Danmork, with his ridiculous hair and silly personality, Noregi would rather be boiled alive than admit that the Dane was his best friend. Noregi was fast beginning to wish this terrible voyage was over already so he could go back home and see Dan again. He would even be willing to play with that strange brother of his if he had to.

Noregi glowered at the distant shoreline. He did not care if this island meant new land and more trade opportunities, he hated it already.

 

That night, after the party had reached the shore and begun setting up camp, Noregi was sitting near the fire, staring petulantly into the forest.

He was loathe to admit it but the island was rather beautiful. They hadn’t explored very much yet but what could be seen from their camp was green and pretty to look at. Noregi had already spotted some cliffs he intended to visit in the daylight.

The wind picked up and Noregi had a strange feeling. It was the same one he had noticed back in his own land several times. It was difficult to understand and he did not think he would be able to put it into words if he tried. The only thing he could say for sure was that it seemed oddly familiar. Like a memory that was only in fragments- the smell of rain, the warm, safe sensation of being swept into someone’s arms. It reminded him of people like Hildr and Dan, people he liked and felt comfortable around.

But it did not make sense. There were no other inhabitants on the island, other than the animals. Where was this coming from?

Noregi removed his sleeping sack from his bag and laid it out on the ground. The warmth of the fire tickled his skin and he rubbed his eyes, feeling sleepy. He snuggled under the covering and glanced up at the full moon.

He remembered the story of Mani being chased by the wolf every night. As he began to be pulled by the tide of sleep, Noregi wondered if this was to be his fate, pursued forever by this sense of foreboding he could not shake.

 

The months fell away and Noregi grew even more lonely and homesick.

The strange feeling did not go away, in fact, it only got worse. Each day, after he finished helping the others around camp, Noregi spent his days roaming the island, looking for some sign or reason why he felt this other…presence.

Noregi was pleased to discover that magical creatures inhabited this island as well. But when he asked them questions to aid in his search, they either didn’t know what he was talking about or proved to be unhelpful. He was never a bastion of patience but the awe he’d felt at first had given way to annoyance. If there really was someone there, why didn’t they just show themselves already?

It wasn’t until one crisp, gray afternoon that Noregi finally lost his temper.

He was out exploring again, father than he’d gone before. He stamped through the woods, angrily swiping at branches and leaves that got in his way. Noregi paused for a moment to have a drink from his water skin, wiping the sweat from his brow and swatting at flies.

He looked high up into the branches of the trees and smiled. He was thinking about the world tree and why Ratatosk went through all the trouble of climbing up and down just to spread gossip. But his quiet pondering was immediately ruined when he heard the crackle of dry leaves behind him.

Noregi scowled as he thought back to the previous day when he’d heard female giggling and saw cow tails fluttering. Obviously the island also contained huldra.  
He had tried to sneak away but they caught him.

“Oooh, come here, little one. What a handsome little thing you are,” the blonde one squealed, squishing his face against her chest.

“Would you like to be my little boy?” her red-haired companion cooed, scratching him under the chin.

“Get off me,” Noregi snarled kicking and shoving.

“What an impertinent child,” the blonde huldra simpered but let him go.

They swayed back into the forest, tails swishing in tandem, whispering and laughing as they went.

After the encounter, Noregi was already on alert.

“I can hear you,” he called over his shoulder.

When he received no response, Noregi rolled his eyes.

“If you really want a human so badly, just go find the camp towards the shore. There’s a bunch of big guys there, they’d make good slaves for you.”

Again, the huldra said nothing but the rustling grew closer. Finally, Noregi turned around and shouted, “Just leave me alone already!”

His breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t the huldras. It was a little boy, perhaps no more than five years old.

Noregi studied the boy. His hair was the same color and they both had blue eyes. But Noregi’s were dark, the color of storm clouds. The boy’s were lighter, more like the sea.

He was clad in dirty, tattered robes and he was crying, tears making little white tracks on his dirty cheeks. When Noregi took a tentative step forward, the little boy folded in on himself and cowered.

Noregi sighed and knelt down. He could feel something deep within his being shift. This was the presence he had felt. This skinny, unkempt child was somehow a part of him.

Noregi took his water skin back out and poured some on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry I frightened you. I did not meant to yell, I thought you were someone else. If you come here, I’ll wash your face for you.” Noregi was surprised by the sound of his own voice. It was more gentle than he had ever made it.

The fear never left the boy’s eyes but he crept closer to Noregi.

As Noregi wiped the boy’s face, he noted with a strange glee that the resemblance was certainly there. And the more he thought about it, the more natural it seemed that this little boy could be his brother.

The excitement bubbled up out of him and before he could reign it in, he said aloud, “I’m your big brother.”

Curious eyes blinked at Noregi several times.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that from now on, I’m going to take care of you. You’ll come back to my land and we’ll live together. I’ll teach you everything I know and we can be a family.”

The boy didn’t say anything, frowning at Noregi like he wasn’t quite sure what he was saying and needed to consider Noregi’s suggestion.

“My name is Noregi. What is your name?” He smiled, hoping to show his brother that he was nice and non-threatening.

“Name?”

“What are you called?”  
The boy looked thoughtful.

“There were some people here before you. They called me I-Isur…”

“Island,” Noregi finished for him.

The newly christened Island nodded solemnly.

Noregi put his hand out but saw how tired Island looked and decided against it.

“Shall I carry you?”

Island gave a non-committal shrug but held his arms up and allowed himself to be hoisted up onto Noregi’s hip. Before they began their trek, Noregi did not want to overwhelm his brother but he needed to know one thing.

“How long have you been following me?”

“A long time. You walk very fast and it was hard to keep up with you.” His eyes were accusatory, peering up at Noregi from his spot under his chin. Noregi laughed, causing Island to glare even more.

“You are very quiet. I never would have known you were following me. You’re like my shadow. No- you’re like Hati, the wolf that chases the moon. You’re a little wolf.”

“Wolf? What is that? Something you made up?”

“Oh you don’t have wolves here? Well, that’s alright. I’ll show you what a wolf is when we go to my land. I’ll teach you all the stories about our Gods and the world. I’ll even introduce you to Dan.”

“Is Dan a wolf?”

“No but sometimes he behaves like one.”

Through the womb-like forest they went, the clear, bright sounds of animals and fay gradually dying out as they drew closer to the camp. A soft, oddly warm wind blew at their backs, as if ushering them back to the humans.

The leaves in the trees and the bushes fluttered gracefully in the breeze, conveying a message to the brothers: Now that you have found each other, be safe, my sons.

Noregi looked around him, sure he heard a female voice.

But the world had grown quiet. They walked on.


End file.
